Senseless Repairs
by jaxink
Summary: Donatello wonders if he really is gifted, or maybe he just has more common sense than his brothers. It could be both.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: Don't own it._

* * *

**Senseless Repairs**

_Prologue_

Donatello was a reasonable, thoughtful turtle. He liked things to make sense — everything fits together in a meaningful way, all working together for a greater purpose. Just like his family. They were a team through it all. They meshed well and fought together as one. Sure, they needed team training once in a while to sharpen their ninja skills and center their focus.

Donatello, a sensible being, liked to live by the saying, "If it's not broken, don't fix it — make it better." Of course, that last part was his own addition. Everything should work together; everything should be logical and make sense, but sometimes…Donnie's brothers were able to defy all reasonable logic.

Common sense, apparently, isn't as commonplace as he once thought.


	2. Eeep!  Help!

_Disclaimer: Don't own it._

* * *

**Senseless Repairs**

_Eeep! Help!_

Donatello sat happily at his workstation, tinkering away at a new project. It was an unusually peaceful evening. Their afternoon practice had ended early as Splinter's soap of choice was airing a special two hour long episode. And even with the soft voices emanating from the TVs in the background, Donnie found solace in the quiet, relaxed environment. Best of all, his brothers were also preserving this silence. Raphael was carefully cleaning some of their weapons, while Michelangelo sat on the couch next to Master Splinter reading comics. He assumed Leonardo was meditating somewhere. Nothing could disturb him in this blissful time. Or so he thought…

A less than masculine scream erupted from the kitchen, one Don would normally have attributed to Mikey, only to be proven wrong as Leonardo came running out of the kitchen in a flurry, arms waving wildly like Kermit the Frog.

"Eeep! Help! What do I do?" Leo shouted to no one in particular as he pranced around from foot to foot.

Donatello shared a brief look with his other brothers, and they ran back into the kitchen. The purple-clad turtle's eyes widened considerably beneath his mask in astonishment. What the shell?

A small fire, sparking and sending black debris scattering across the kitchen, had erupted in the microwave. No, not the _microwave_. The _same _microwave Donatello had just fixed two weeks ago! Beside him, he heard his brothers begin to cough, and he felt his own throat prickling from the irritants in the air.

"What _do_ we do?" asked Mikey fearfully, glancing back at a panicky Leo.

"Uh…" Raph began, breaking into a cough.

Don rolled his eyes and shoved past his frozen brothers to get near the entryway to the kitchen. Plucking the fire extinguisher from the wall, he hoisted it up, released the clamp, and sprayed the flames until they sputtered into lifeless ash. Exasperated at his brothers' stupidity, he laid the fire extinguisher on the floor and turned to address them.

"Guys, remember those safety plans I make us run through once a month?" Donnie prompted and waited for their nods. "Try applying that knowledge!"

Turning his attention to their leader, he rubbed his temples and asked, "Leo, what did you do?"

"I was microwaving leftover Chinese takeout," Leonardo said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, but what caused the fire?"

"Uh…?" was all the blue-clad turtle could manage. "Uh" was clearly a favorite word choice of his brothers today.

Slapping his forehead, Donatello moved to examine the charred remains in the microwave. Upon investigation, he discovered the cause of the problem.

"You covered the plate in tin foil?" Don yelled in disbelief.

His siblings shared confused glances, Leo began to shrug a "Yeah, so what?" response, but decided to refrain from doing so once seeing his brainy little brother's fierce glare.

"Um, yes?"

Releasing a sigh of frustration, Donatello unplugged the blackened microwave, lifted it, and moved to leave the kitchen. Looking pointedly at Leonardo, their own Fearless Leader, he questioned, "How is it you can face the Foot Elite, Hun, and the Shredder, but you decide to run away from a small kitchen fire? And then, you fail to realize how you started it in the first place! Unbelievable!"

Turning away from a stunned Leo, he addressed Mike and Raph. "And you two, will be helping him clean up this mess while I see if the poor, defenseless microwave is salvageable."

"Yes, Donnie," came the dutiful responses. As he left he heard Leo whisper to the others, "It's not my fault! You guys know how I do with kitchen appliances. They're evil — remember the toaster?"

Shaking his head, Donatello wondered if he really was gifted, or he was just smarter than his brothers.


	3. Oh  Why?

_Disclaimer: Don't own it._

* * *

**Senseless Repairs**

_Oh. Why?_

Slamming his fist down in silent, aggravated frustration, Donatello released a heavy sigh. Unclenching his tense hand, he spun around aimlessly in his swivel chair watching the floor swirl beneath him. Coming to a stop, he stared forlornly once more at the utterly destroyed microwave in front him. The poor thing seemed to whimper at him in its charred despair saying, "Fix me, Donatello. Please fix me. Then keep me away from those technology-killing heathens."

He was going to kill Leonardo.

The microwave had been functioning beautifully before his katana-wielding brother had ruined it with his technology-decimating hands. Not even a calculator was safe in his grasp. The microwave had been a rare find — practically new! Now, with only a few salvaged parts, Don would have to ignore the microwave's desperate pleas to be fixed because it was too far gone to be saved. Oh the cruelty of it all!

Donatello knew he would be spending more of his valuable time sifting through trash at the junkyard for an entire day searching for another microwave.

Cracking his knuckles absently, Don put away his tools carefully and packed the few pieces of the old microwave into his brown bag. He also grabbed the blueprints for his plans for a smaller hovercraft, similar to the Sewer Slider. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to look for some parts for that project while he was there.

And besides, he was tired of sitting in the lair. His repair list was piling up — no thanks to his brilliant family. There was the microwave (Leonardo), the DVD player (Raphael), the VCR (Raphael and Casey, right after the DVD player), a video gaming system (Michelangelo), their makeshift DVR (Splinter). Don checked off these items in his mind as he got up, gathered his belongings, and headed for the elevator to the warehouse…

_**CRUNCH**_

Looking down beneath his foot, Donatello seethed as he saw a crushed digital camera that suspiciously looked like the one he had lent to Raphael. Growling, he snatched up the pieces and put them at his workstation to repair later. Dropping his bag, Donnie collapsed into his chair and began banging his head on the table.

"Ow…ow…ow…ow…ow…" and so he continued.

As he did so, a shrill call for aid rang through the lair, and Michelangelo came scampering into the main room frantically glancing about. Spotting Donatello at his workstation, he anxiously approached him. However, he was surprised to find his purple-clad brother inflicting pain upon himself.

"Uh, Donnie…" ventured Mikey as he stepped closer.

Holding up a finger, Don said, "Hold on, Mike."

"Ow…ow…ow…ow…" he continued, and with one final head slam to the table, "_OW_."

Rubbing his pulsing forehead, Donatello turned to smile wearily at his little brother. "What is it?"

Looking off to the side, Michelangelo murmured, "I need you to fix the washer. It's not starting."

Surprised, Don raised an eye ridge in speculation. "You sure, bro? I just washed the towels this morning, and it was working fine."

"It won't start, though. Raph tried looking at it, too, but it won't start. Then again, he didn't try very hard. He looked at it, kicked it, swore, then hit me and walked away."

Another sigh escaped as Donatello raised himself from the chair and set off for the corner of the lair where their makeshift laundry room was. Calling back, he said, "Hey Mikey, if this really is broken, I'll need my heavy duty tools. Could you go grab them from the warehouse?"

"Sure thing!" his little brother chirped and headed to the elevator.

Once in front of the washer, Don gave it a once over. Nothing appeared out of place. Checking behind the machine, he found it to be plugged in and the other connectors looked fine. Donnie checked the coin slot for the quarters. They had decided to have the machines be coin-operated to help save up some money for expenses. Yup, there were two coins in the slot. Shrugging, Donnie slid the slot in waiting for the coins to be deposited, but as it slid back out, the coins came back with it.

Okay, so that was the problem. The coins weren't getting deposited, therefore, the machine couldn't start. Maybe the coin tray was full? Prying the tray open, he found only a few quarters in it. He vaguely recalled Leo emptying it a week before, so he supposed that wasn't it. Pulling out the quarters from the slots, he played with them in his hand as he tried to figure out what was going wrong. Offhandedly, he thought the coins felt strange. Glancing down at the quarters, Donatello noticed something…one was larger than the other. Peering at the smaller one more closely, Don rolled his eyes at the continued stupidity of his brothers.

Ready to punch something, the smart turtle stomped off toward the dojo, but not before crossing paths with his little brother.

Michelangelo proudly held out his brother's toolbox. "Gotch yer tools, Don!"

"Put them back," Donatello muttered. "And next time you're doing laundry, Mike, try not to use Canadian currency."

"Oh…" Mikey paused. "Why?"

Smacking his forehead, instantly regretting doing so because it was still tender from his earlier abuse to his head, Don said, "Because you need to use U.S. currency, more specifically, quarters…"

The bo staff-wielding turtle continued on his path to the dojo and roughly shouldered past Raphael as he entered the lair.

Staring after the fuming turtle, Raph looked at Mikey for an explanation. "What's up with him?"

Shrugging, Mike said, "Donnie doesn't like Canada."


	4. Riiiight

_Disclaimer: Don't own it._

* * *

**Senseless Repairs**

_Riiiiight._

Miraculously, the rest of the day had gone well, after the previous incidents in the lair. Donatello, after letting out a great amount of stress through multiple hits to the dummy in the dojo, felt ready to tackle all the repairs piling up.

He found a decent microwave at the junkyard, and he would be able to put it in working order with the salvaged parts of the old microwave. In the process, Donnie also found many of the precious parts he had been searching for to use on his newest project, including a sweet circuit board. The day at the junkyard had proven to be of great value to the techno turtle.

Upon returning to the lair, he discovered Michelangelo was having no problem with the washer again. And just as he saw Leonardo exit the kitchen, he was almost afraid some other hapless appliance had been destroyed in his absence. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw Leo was on the phone ordering pizza for dinner. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, he found a note on his desk from Raphael saying he was sorry for leaving his digital camera carelessly on the floor, resulting in its destruction. He also promised the purchase of a new one, soon as he had the money. Donatello's smile turned into a frown at the P.S. on the bottom of the note.

_P.S. Don, I have a favor to ask. Casey sort of messed up April's copier at the shop. He can't seem to get it working right. Think you can stop by tonight before April gets back tomorrow morning from her vacation?_

Crumpling the note in his hand, Donatello dropped his belongings on the floor and rifled through his bag to put some things away. Reaching for his small tool kit, he placed it in his trusty bag and readjusted the strap as he put it over his shoulder. Calling to Leo and Master Splinter in front of the television monolith, he said, "I'll be back in a while with Raph. Just need to go to April's to fix something."

Leonardo turned with a nod, as did Master Splinter. Their rat master said, "All right, my son. Be safe, and I will attempt to restrain Michelangelo from eating all the pizza."

"Hey!" came the half-hearted protest from across the lair.

Shaking his head in amusement, Don replied, "Thanks, sensei."

Once in the warehouse, Donatello hopped onto the Shell Cycle, as Raph seemed to have walked to Casey's or April's or wherever he had originally gone while he was out at the junkyard. And with that, he zipped out of the warehouse to the Second Time Around shop.

Knocking on the side door in the alley way, Don waited for Casey or his brother to let him in. Seconds later, Casey flung the door open in a panic and dragged the smart turtle into the building.

Donatello let out an "_Oomph_" as he face-planted on the floor from the momentum of being swung into the room.

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Casey offered him a hand up. "Sorry, Donnie. I'm just afraid April's gonna find out I broke something else of hers and get mad at me."

Dusting himself off, Don said, "No worries, Case. Let's take a look at the copier so Raph and I can get back to the lair for dinner. Where is Raphael?"

"Raph's tryin' to fix the copier," Casey said as he turned to the back room, "but he ain't havin' much luck."

"All right, let's get in there and see what the problem is," Don sighed.

As they entered the back office, they took in the sight of Raphael peering into every compartment and hidden nook of the copier. "What were you trying to copy anyway?"

Raph and Casey shared a glance, then Raph coughed uncomfortably as Casey sputtered trying to come up with something to say.

Rolling his eyes, Don said, "Never mind. I don't want to know."

Placing his bag down, but refraining from taking out his tools just yet, Donnie gave the copier a once over as he had done with the washer earlier. Everything seemed fine again. The machine was plugged in, softly humming, but not overheated. The tray had plenty of paper in it. Hmm…

Looking to his brother and Casey for some explanations, he asked, "So, what happens when you try to copy it?"

"It sounds like it's scannin', but all that comes out into the tray is a blank sheet of paper," Raph offered. Hitting the start button, the machine came to life, indeed scanned, and printed off…nothing. "See?"

Giving a thoughtful hum, Donatello checked one compartment to see if the ink cartridge was empty. If the black ink all over his hands once doing that task was any indication, it had ink. Okay, so it had ink, but why not print off the scanned image?

"Well?" Casey asked anxiously, only to have Raph shoulder him. "What?"

"Be patient," he chastised.

With a teasing look, Don turned to his hot-tempered brother and gave him a lopsided smile. "And this word of advice coming from you, Raphael? How interesting…"

Offering his own smirk, Raph mockingly said, "Watch it, brainiac. Just fix the stupid thing."

Continuing his inspection of the machine, Donnie directed a "tsk, tsk" at his brother. Still finding no evidence of a problem — an idea struck. It certainly wouldn't be a stretch considering this was his brother and Casey. Lifting the lid of the copier, his assumption was confirmed. He snorted in amusement and rolled his eyes.

"Hey guys, I found your problem," he began.

"Really? What is it?" Casey asked.

"You need to put a document in the scanner for the copier to copy it. There's nothing here, so the copier's doing just that…copying nothing," Don concluded.

After smacking Casey on the back of his head, Raph growled, "Way to go, bonehead. You forgot to put the magazine on the scanner."

"Riiight. Knew I was forgetting somethin'."

Picking up his bag from the floor, Donnie laughed and said, "What magazine?"

"Nothing!" Casey abruptly spit out as his cheeks began to color. "Thanks for the help, Don."

"You have fun with the copier, Case. Don and I are headin' home before the pizza gets cold," Raphael said, following his brother out of the back room.

They left Casey to copy, well, whatever it was he was planning on scanning and hopped on the Shell Cycle to head home. Upon reaching the warehouse, they parked the bike and walked toward the elevator.

"Thanks for helpin' out, Don, even if Casey is a complete bonehead," Raph said, hitting his brother lightly on the back of his shell.

"Not a problem. But a question for you — how much do you want to bet he's going to forget to take the magazine off the scanner and leave it for April to find?" Don said with a grin.

Eyes widening, Raph let out a stream of laughter.


	5. Is that all?

_Disclaimer: Don't own it._

* * *

**Senseless Repairs**

_Is that all?_

After stuffing themselves silly with delicious, larger than life New York pizza, — the way pizza is supposed to be made! — the turtles contentedly went their separate ways for the rest of the evening. Michelangelo and Raphael headed toward the televisions for yet another horror movie marathon to rot their brains with mindless drivel. Leonardo joined Master Splinter in the dojo for some extra help with a few advanced katas. Donatello shuffled out of the kitchen and contemplated what he wanted to do…

Work on the rest of the many repairs? Nah, they could wait until tomorrow.

Watch movies with Mikey and Raph? Nope. They always talked too much, and Mikey's shrill screams might worsen his headache.

Practice with Leo and Splinter? Negative. He'd already spent enough time venting in the dojo earlier. Though he did need the practice…

Still no, too exhausted.

Nodding, satisfied with his decision, Don released a weary yawn and dragged his feet to his room. Bedtime at 8pm… Sweet sleep, _yes_.

Upon entering his room, Donnie took off his mask, pads, and gently set his bo staff upon the hooks on the wall. Releasing another wide yawn and rubbing his tired eyes, Don set his alarm for 5:30am, so he would have some time for coffee before morning practice. A non-caffeinated Donatello was a cranky Donatello.

Pulling back the covers, he lay down on his plastron, snuggled up to his soft, fluffy pillow and released a relaxed sigh. Closing his eyes, Donatello let the stress fade away as he drifted to dream and float in a blissful oblivion.

_Sweet dreams_…

Later on, after practicing and a movie marathon, his brothers grew tired as well and set to picking up the lair before heading to bed.

Raphael and Michelangelo gathered up their various plates with cheese remnants from nachos, dip, and snacks, as well as cups with their beverages in tow to the kitchen to rinse off. Looking at the pile of dishes and silverware from dinner, Mikey groaned at the amount of work left to do before hitting the sack.

"Dude, tell me again why we didn't start the dishwasher sooner?" Michelangelo muttered with distaste as he turned on the faucet.

Raph handed him a sticky plate to rinse and said, "Yeah, well, tough luck. We made the mess, we clean it up."

"You know my motto all too well, Raph," Leo said with a smile as he, too, entered the kitchen with dirty cups. He and Splinter had had some jasmine tea after their late workout.

Rinsing out his cups as well, Leonardo placed them in the full dishwasher. "Someone add the detergent yet?" he asked.

"I got it," Mikey replied. Filling the small compartment with soap, he snapped it shut and closed the dishwasher. "What setting do we put it on again?"

Leaning against the fridge impatiently waiting to go to bed, Raphael said, "The 'normal cycle', doofus."

"Haha, yeah, yeah," Michelangelo laughed as he pushed the normal cycle button and waited for the light to come on. The light that indicated the dishwasher had turned on. And waited. And waited…

"What's the hold up, Mike?" Leonardo questioned as he looked at his little brother.

"Uh, the dishwasher won't start."

Pushing away from the fridge, Raph growled, "What? You broke something else, shell-for-brains?"

"No, I pushed the button, but nothing happened!" Mikey protested, holding his hands up in defense.

Gently pushing past both of his brothers, the blue-clad turtle examined the dishwasher. He pressed the button and — nothing. "No, Raph, he's right. It won't start. Guess we'll just have to wash everything by hand."

Immediately, Raph voiced his opinion on that course of action. "No way I am staying up any longer to clean all that. It'll take forever. Let's just wake up the boy genius, and he'll fix it!"

"No, dude. Donnie's had a long enough day. He needs some sleep," their little brother noted. "Can't we figure out how to fix it?"

"I don't know, Mike," Leo began. "If we mess it up even more, won't Don just be more upset? But you're right, we shouldn't wake him, so let's just do it by hand. If we just leave it, Splinter will get mad."

"I say we fix it ourselves, or wake up Don!" Raph shouted.

"No! Donnie needs sleep! We'll do it by hand!" Leo insisted.

"Uh, guys…" Mikey attempted to interject.

"Leo, you're gettin' on my nerves."

"Yeah, well, you're already driving me nuts."

"Guys…"

"I'm not stayin' up to get my fingers wrinkly in dirty dish water!"

"You will, and you'll do it without complaint! Let's get to work, then we can go to bed."

Raph and Leo both fumed, ready to open their mouths again, before they were interrupted by Michelangelo slapping his hands over both of their mouths.

"Yikes, bros. Keep it down, will ya? You'll wake up Donnie and Master…uh oh…"

Raphael raised an eye ridge. "Master Uh oh? What are you talkin' about, Mike?"

Leo and Raph looked in the direction Michelangelo was facing only to find a disgruntled, groggy Donatello glaring at them and an impatient Master Splinter tapping his foot.

"Um, sensei, we can explain…" Leo said.

Raising a paw to silence his eldest, Splinter said, "What seems to be the reason you all find it appropriate to be shouting at this late hour and wake your brother and me? Hmm?"

Looking sheepish, they all averted their gazes. Mikey raised one eye and said, "The dishwasher won't start."

"Is that all?" Splinter asked.

Met with three nods, he glanced at Donatello. "Is this something you can take care of now, my son? Or would it be better handled in the morning?"

Widely yawning, Donnie answered, "Give me a sec, sensei." He walked over closer to the dishwasher to take a look. "What's wrong with it, guys?"

"Mikey pushed the normal cycle button, but it didn't light up, and we didn't hear it start," Leonardo explained.

Blinking tiredly, Donatello leaned close to the key pad, thought for a moment, then nodded. He pushed the dishwasher door firmly until he heard a 'click,' and pressed the normal cycle button. The light glowed and the dishwasher's cycle began to softly hum. "Problem solved. I'm going back to bed."

"How'd you do that?" Raph asked, staring at his brother in wonder.

Don smiled and said, "You need to close the dishwasher door all the way for it to turn on. Next time, make sure it clicks shut. Can I go to sleep now?"

"Yes, my son. You may go rest," Splinter said, shooing his normally purple-clad son out of the kitchen and back to this room. His brothers attempted to sneak away, but nothing escaped their master. "As for the rest of you, tomorrow, you will all aid Donatello with any projects and repairs he needs to attend to. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master Splinter," was the chorus of replies.

He twitched his whiskers and said, "Good."

With that, his sons followed him out of the kitchen and went off to bed, unaware of the tasks their brainy brother would have for them the next day…

* * *

_A/N: One more chapter, methinks. Yeah, a little torture for the others, then Donnie can call it even!_


	6. Ah, Revenge

_Disclaimer: Don't own it._

* * *

**Senseless Repairs**

_Ah, Revenge_

Studiously standing at attention in their genius brother's lab, three turtles stared straight ahead waiting for orders from their commander. Said commander walked slowly back and forth in front of them, eyeing them over as if wondering or not they were up to par. Under his purple clad brother's intense gaze, Mikey began to fidget, looking down at the floor and bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Annoyed with his little brother's short attention span, Raphael growled and smacked him on the back of his head.

"Owie! Raphie, didn't Splinter ever to teach you to play nice?" Michelangelo said, rubbing his sore head. He wondered if he was losing brain cells from the amount of times he'd been hit on his head in his lifetime…

"You're annoying," was the short response.

"You're both annoying. Now be quiet," Leonardo ordered.

Stopping abruptly from his pacing, Donatello shook his head. "Correction, Leo, you're all annoying."

Snickering, Mike observed their eldest brother hang his head in embarrassment. "Aw, don't feel bad, Leo. Being perfect isn't so great!"

Rolling his eyes at his technology-wrecking brothers, Donnie continued his task. "Alright, listen up." All three "helpers" stood up straighter at the commanding tone of his voice. "Master Splinter said you have to help me with anything I ask for today. You've managed to break the microwave and destroy my digital camera, and none of you had common sense when dealing with the washer, a copier, and the dishwasher."

They all cringed as Donatello listed off item after item and mishap after mishap.

"As such, I find it illogical to allow any of you to help me with any repairs, seeing as how you'll probably just find some way to break it anyway."

Eyes widening excitedly, Michelangelo let out a whoop. "Does that mean we're off the hook?"

Leo and Raph looked to the bo staff wielding turtle expectantly, leaning forward waiting for his answer.

Scoffing at this question, Don said, "Of course not."

A trio of moans sounded.

"Oh, grow up. I want all of you out of here."

"Out of here?" Leonardo questioned as he raised an eye ridge.

Raph scratched his head. "You want us to go to the junkyard or somethin'?"

"No. I want precisely what I just said. I want all of you out of the lair. For the entire day. I don't want to see any of your faces until later tonight. The only way I'll get any work done is if you guys aren't here," he explained.

"What about sensei?" Mikey asked.

"Sensei can stay. He's certainly less likely to destroy anything than you, my dear brothers. Now scram!" Donnie finished, pointing to the exit of the lair.

They all stared stupidly at him for a moment, as if still confused about what they were supposed to do.

"What are you waiting for? Get lost!" Don yelled.

Needing no further encouragement, his brothers made a bolt for the exit, scared of the mock anger in Donatello's tone.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Don fell into his chair. The lair hummed quietly, and the silence was unbelievable. So rare. So precious. Not a moment to lose! He picked up his To-Do List from his desk, and suddenly, things seemed much simpler. Reaching for a tool, Donnie paused, sensing someone behind him. He turned to find Master Splinter smiling at him.

"My son, are you sure you did not wish to have your brothers aid you with your work? After all, they created most of it."

"Nah, it's better this way, sensei. I now have the peace of mind I need to get all of this done. And I meant it when I said they would get in the way," Donatello said matter-of-factly.

Scratching his chin, Splinter said, "Well, if you're sure. But don't you think you're letting them off a bit easy?"

Laughing, Donnie said, "Oh, don't worry, sensei. They've still got a surprise coming their way. I hope it doesn't inconvenience you too much, though."

"Whatever you have planned for your brothers, Donatello, I'm sure I can manage."

Donatello plowed through his list, not wasting one moment of his undisturbed work time. Item after item on the list was crossed off. The chills he got through his body knowing something else was complete was pure bliss. And then, after hours of work, he took note of the final item on his list. Smiling cruelly, Donnie rubbed his hands together. Ah, revenge…

* * *

Hours later, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo returned to the lair, extremely pleased with their "day off." They had actually spent a large part of the day together, playing some intense ninja tag, bugging Casey, visiting April, hitting up the comic shop, and catching pizza and a movie. As they made their final approach to the lair through the sewers, they amicably chatted.

"That was nice of Don to let us just go out and hang, huh bros?" Mikey said, splashing in the water of the sewer here and there.

Getting wet, Leo raised his hands to block the assault of water droplets. "Cut it out, Mike, that water's disgusting. And yes, it was nice of him."

"Maybe we should do something nice for him," Mikey chirped, as he switched his water attack to Raph.

"You splash me again, shell-for-brains, your butt will be hurtin' for weeks after I kick it," Raph said, quite irritated. "And what are you gonna do for Donnie? Give him ten free coupons to get rid of you whenever he wants?"

Eyes lighting up, Michelangelo said, "Hey, that's a great idea!"

Muttering something about stupid little brothers, Raph looked to their elder brother. "What are you gonna do then, Fearless?"

Shrugging, Leo replied, "I don't know. Maybe I could promise to not cook for a month."

"Yeah, then Don could spend his time on something else instead of fixing all the kitchen appliances!"

"Haha, Mikey. What about you, Raph?" Leonardo asked.

"I dunno. I guess I could go with the brainiac to the junkyard a few times this month. He's always complainin' he can't lift the heavy stuff he needs for vehicle projects by himself. And I need to get him the money for a new camera," Raph added.

Looping his arm through his brother's, Mikey said, "Aw, who knew you were so thoughtful, Raphie?"

Shaking him off, Raph rolled his eyes.

"If you two are done, we're here," Leo said standing in front of the entrance to the lair.

The trio entered the lair, happily relaxed and ready to do something nice in return for their considerate brother. Their smart, forgiving brother who was…no where in sight?

"Hello?" Leo called out into the dark, silent lair. "Anyone here? Don? Master Splinter?"

"Dude, I can't see a — _whoa_!" Michelangelo cried out as he fell…and knocked over the person standing in front him.

"Get offa me, lamebrain!" Raph snarled, pushing his clumsy brother off his shell. Standing up and brushing himself off, Raphael looked around, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. "I don't know if anyone's here, Leo."

Emerging from his room, Master Splinter revealed his presence, the candle in his one paw emitting a soft glow, casting light and shadows about the lair.

"Ah, you've returned, my sons. Welcome home."

"Uh, thanks, Master Splinter. Where's Donnie? Why are all the lights off?" Leonardo asked.

Twitching his whiskers with a chuckle, Splinter said, "Donatello has left for a while. He shall return in a week."

"A week? Where'd he go?" questioned Mikey curiously.

"He is spending the week with Leatherhead. They departed through the sewers to go scavenging for materials. Their destination, I do not know."

Raph idly listened and walked over during to the TV array during these explanations. He grabbed the remote and tried to turn the TVs on. Nothing.

He clicked the power button again. Nothing.

"Sensei, what's up with the TVs? Donnie trip a wire or somethin' today?"

"No, Raphael. Donatello shut off the main power to the lair."

Gasping, Mikey demanded an answer. "Why would he do that?"

Splinter said, "I believe Donatello felt if you were deprived of electricity, then you three wouldn't be able to destroy anything by using any of the technology around the lair. I find his reasoning quite sound."

Michelangelo let out a whimper. "No TV? No video games? No radio? He's a monster!"

"At least we can get outta here for some entertainment," Raph said, already heading toward the elevator to head up to the warehouse.

"That won't be possible either, my son. Donatello set up a new security grid in the warehouse. Lasers and all that flashy stuff he so likes to blow people up with," Splinter explained.

Raphael shook with rage. "He didn't happen to show you how to disable the system, did he?"

"No, he did not. He said he would be glad to explain it to all of us. When he returns."

"Guess this means we'll just have to train this week then. Right, sensei?" Leo asked hopefully.

"No, my son. I am spending the rest of the week with Miss O'Neil."

"_Phew_! Thought we were gonna be stuck here all week with nothin' to do!" Mike said, perking up a bit.

"Incorrect again, my son. You are not welcome at Miss O'Neil's, or Mr. Jones' for that matter. You all have a lot of work to do right here."

"What work, Master Splinter?" Leonardo said.

"Why, the list of repairs Donatello left for you," he said.

Now utterly confused, Raph shook his head. "Don was supposed to take care of that today. He even had that list on his desk."

"He had two lists, my sons. One with the repairs. And one with the supplies he would need to prepare for his trip. Well, it's getting late. Be sure to have the list done by the time Donatello and I return."

"But, sensei, we don't know how to do any of this stuff. This'll take forever! How are we supposed to figure out how to do this?" Michelangelo inquired, throwing his hands up into the air.

"I do not know, my son, but I suggest you get started." And with that, Master Splinter exited the lair with a duffle bag, leaving behind three dumbfounded turtles. Just before he was out of ear range, he chuckled when he heard a yell from Raphael.

"I'm gonna kill him!"

* * *

_A/N: The end! Buwahahaha...Donnie gets the last laugh! Hope you enjoyed this story. I enjoyed writing it._


End file.
